Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, Duchess of Brabant turned 18 on the 25th of October. To mark the day, the Royal Court organised a unique birthday ceremony. Next to the Royal Family, the guests included the ministers of all governments, 18-year-olds from all Belgian provinces, the palace staff, the staff of the Princess Elisabeth Children’s hospital and family friends. But what does one give to a Princess who already has everything she could wish for? Royal Central has made a list of the gifts on the occasion of the 18th birthday of Belgium’s heir to the throne.
A windmill park – The federal government of Belgium has gifted the heir to the throne “her own” windmill park. Then windmill park will be named “Princess Elisabeth Windmill Zone”. The zone will be built between 2020 and 2030 and is situated in the North Sea. The windmill park will be responsible for 10% of the electricity needs of the whole country. The Minister of the North Sea, Philippe De Backer explained that this is a “symbolic gift” and an investment in the future.
The Order of Leopold – From her father, King Philippe the Duchess of Brabant received the ribbon of the Order of Leopold, the oldest and highest national order. Princess Elisabeth has received the highest rank in the order after her father the King who is the Grand Master. The Princess will be able to wear the purple sash and star of the Order of the Leopold on special occasions such as state banquets.
Books – Yes, books, lots of books. The Minister of Finance and Development Cooperation shared that his present to Princess Elisabeth consisted of many books. His packet of books consisted of his own books about feminism and female leadership such as “The Age of the Girl”, “So Here I Am”, “I Am Malala”, books about the history of Belgium, the popular roman “Grand Hotel Europa” and last but not least “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”.
Earrings – Princess Elisabeth wore new earrings to her 18th birthday ceremony. The earrings consisted of gold and diamond. It is assumed that the new jewels are a present from her parents or maybe her grandparents.
Stamp – On the occasion of the coming of age of Princess Elisabeth, the Belgian Post Group has created a special stamp with a picture of the Princess. The photo on the stamp was taken by her father King Philippe in the gardens of the Castle of Laeken. The limited-edition stamp is on sale from the 21st of October.
Reusable bottle – One of the 18-year-olds brought a gift of the city of Roeselare, Flanders. The gift included a reusable water bottle, a shirt, chocolates and so on.
Private gifts – Princess Elisabeth has received many other presents from her family, the Belgian Nobility Association and so on. These gifts are considered private and will not be shared.
